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VJ. ARMSTRONG. Jr.

Wheel-Cultivator.

Patented Feb 19, 1867.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:-

Be it known that I, JAMnS ARMSTRONG, jr., of Elmira, Stark county, State of Illinois, have invented an Improvement in Cultivators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the cultivator, with the shovels adjusted for running to their full depth in the ground.

Figure 2 is a top view of the improved cultivator. 4

Figure 3 is a sectional'view of the cultivator, showing the shovels adjusted so as to run a very short distance in the ground. 1

' Figure 4 is a sectional view, showing the shovels elevated free from the ground.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to an improvement on'thc cultivator for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the 26th day of December, 1865, in which the shovel-carrying frame, upon which the drivers seat is also applied, is pivoted to the front ends of lovers secured to the axle of the transportingqvheels, which levers are provided with foot stirrups so arranged that the person sitting upon the shovel-frame can, by exerting pressure upon the said levers, lift such frame, and thus raise the shovels out of the ground. In conjunction with such an arrangement stepped rests or blocks were applied upon the axle of the transporting-wheels and beneath the shovel-frame, by adjusting which blocks the shovels could be made to run in the grounddeeper or shal lower, as circumstances required. Such adjustment of the shovcl-frame and shovels with the stepped blocks can only be effected conveniently when the machine is at rest; and as it is frequently necessary to efiect such adjustment while the machine is in the field and in motion, my invention' consists in the employment of a curved lever or eccentric, which is pivoted to-the tongue or shovel-frame'soas to support such frame upon the axle,

said lever being provided with a suitable latch for holding it in any desired position, and arranged in such relation to the drivers seat that the driver can adjust the shovels to run at any desired depth,whether the machine be moving or at rest, as will be hereinafter described. i

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, Iwill describeits construction and operation In the accompanying drawings, A represents the axle of two transporting-wheels, B B, andC 0 represent two longitudinal beams, which are secured firmly to the axle A in planes parallel to each other, so as: to pro ject forward and'in rear of the axle, as shown in figs. 1 and 2. D represents the shovel-carrying frame, which consists of two longitudinal beams connected together at their front ends by a cross-bar, a, at their rear ends by a seat-board, b, and at an intermediate point between their ends by a. transverse'bar, c, to which latter the shovel standards E E are connected. The longitudinal bars. of frame D have secured to their rear ends the two shovel standards E E, and these bars are pivoted by transverse pins d to the front endsof beams or levers C CI The draught-tongue F is firmly secured to the two cross-beams or bars a a, so that itsrear end passes over the axle A, as shown in figs. 3 and 4. The intermediate shovel standards E are pivoted at their upper ends to cross-bar e, braced and operated as described in my patent No. 51,680, aforementioned. The rear ends of the lovers C C are provided with stirrups e 0, so that the driver, whilst sitting upon the seat 6, can, with his feet, depress the rear ends of theselevers, and thus raise the frame D with its shovels to the position represented in fig. 4. The shovel-carrying frame D is supported upon the axle A by means of a hand-lever, G, the lower forked ends y of which are curved, as represented in figs. 3 and 4,so as to form a cam or eccentric bearing on each side of the draught-pole F. The lever G is pivoted to pole F so as to vibrate forward and backward in a vertical plane, and to raise and lower the frame D by said motion. When the lever G is moved backward, as in fig. 3, the eccentric bearings 9 will raise .framc D, and the shovels will not run very deep in the ground. When lever G is moved forward, as shown in fig. 1, frame D will be depressed and the shovels will enter the ground to their full depth. A toothed segment, which is concentric to the axis of motion of lever G, is secured firmly to the pole F, between the two eccentric bearings g, for thepurpose of serving, in conjunction v with a spring-latch,f, on said lever, as a means of locking the lever G in any desired position; The upper end of the spring-latchf is connected by a short rod to a key, it, which is in such position as to be moved off by grasping the upper end of lever G in the hand. When the hand is released from lever G and its latch-key, tho

latch will spring between two of the teeth on the segment J and lock the lever in place. The object of lever G:

is to enable the driver to adjust the frame D higher or lower according to the depth which it is required for the shovels to penetrate the soil, and to effect this adjustment whether the machine be in operation or at rest. Itis not intended to employ this lever G as a means for raising and depressing the frame I), at the ends of the rows of plants, when the machine is to be turned around, as the driver must do this by pressing with his feet upon the rear ends of the lovers 0, its-before explained. When lever G is once adjusted so as to have the shovels run at a given depth, it is not moved again unless it is desired to change the depth of penetration of the shovels in the soil. It is important, therefore, to have the lever G locked so that it cannot casually move forward or backward when itis' adjusted to a certain position.

Having described my invention, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure byLettei-s Patent, is-

1. Providing a shovel-carrying frame, D, which is pivoted to levers C, so as to operate, substantially as described, with an auxiliary adjusting lever, G, or its equivalent, whereby the driver can regulate the depth of the shovels at pleasure, whether the machine be in motion or at rest, substantially as set forth.

2. Pivoting a lever, G, which has an eccentric 'bearing,'g, upon one end, to the draught-tongue of frame D, and providing such lever with a locking-device for holding 'it in any desired position, substantially as described.

3. Supporting an adjustable shovel-carrying frame, D, upon the axle A, by means of the levers G and an adjusting device, G gfh, substantially as described.

4;. I claim the use in a cultivator of an eccentric lever, g g, for the purpose described.

' JAMES ARMSTRONG, JR.

Witnesses:

PATRICK M. BLAIR, D. Woonann. 

